Tara's Tango Will Wear Blinkers for First Time in Santa Margarita
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Team Hollendorfer seeks Grade I status for Tara’s Tango when she runs in Saturday’s$500,000 Santa Margarita Stakes for older fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles. She will wear blinkers in a race for the first time in her 10-race career.
The four-year-old gray daughter of Unbridled’s Song owned by Stonestreet Stables overcame a slow start to capture the Grade II Santa Maria Stakes Feb. 13 under Martin Garcia.
With Garcia at Oaklawn Park Saturday, Rafael Bejarano rides Tara’s Tango.
“She lost a lot of ground in the Santa Maria,” pointed out Dan Ward, assistant to Jerry Hollendorfer. “Garcia suggested blinkers after the Santa Maria to see if we can improve her and keep her more focused.
“She has three good works with the blinkers, so we’re very optimistic.”
Tara’s Tango will be going nine furlongs for the first time. The only Santa Margarita entrant that has raced that distance is Penwith, having done so four times, with her best finish a third by a neck in the Grade II Demoiselle at Aqueduct on Nov. 30, 2013.
Living The Life makes her 11th straight stakes start in the United States when she runs in the Santa Margarita. The Irish-bred mare trained by Gary Mandella made her first start in the U.S. in an overnight race on Aug. 7, 2014.
Since then it’s been a string of stakes through Feb.13 in the Grade II Santa Maria, in which the six-year-old daughter of Footstepsinthesand finished a game third, beaten just over a length, after leading into the stretch.
“She’s really happy,” Mandella said. “She came out of the Santa Maria really well and she’s been training good. That was her first time going long on dirt, so I’m hoping there’s still a little more room to improve.”
The Santa Margarita: Living The Life, Flavien Prat, 8-1; Tara’s Tango, Rafael Bejarano, 2-1; Penwith, Mike Smith, 2-1; Moyo Honey, Drayden Van Dyke, 12-1; All Star Bub, Martin Pedroza, 15-1; and Taris, Gary Stevens, 8-5.
Lavender Chrissie was scratched.
FINISH LINES: Exaggerator has been galloping the past couple days following his third-place finish in the San Felipe Stakes last Saturday in preparation for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 9. “He had a very light week, which is typical after the race,” trainer Keith Desormeaux said. “He’ll probably breeze next Saturday, a week from tomorrow.” . . . Trainer Gary Sherlock has San Felipe fourth-place finisher Uncle Lino also pointed to the Santa Anita Derby, likely joining the first three finishers in the San Felipe, Danzing Candy, Mor Spirit and Exaggerator . . .Bob Baffert has Mor Spirit galloping, but said he has “no plans” for undefeated three-year-old Malibu Sunset, who worked six furlongs Thursday 1:14.80 . . . Kudos to jockey Felipe Valdez and his agent Brandon O’Bryan on winning Thursday’s sixth race aboard odds-on favorite Shiny Nugget for trainer Hector Palma. It was only the second mount for Valdez since he was sidelined three months ago with a broken collar bone suffered in a mishap at Los Alamitos. Valdez is the older brother of Palma assistant Jose Sanchez Valdez . . . Correlation, a 3-year-old Forestry filly trained by Richard Baltas, is a first-time starter entered in Saturday’s 10th Race. Santa Anita oddsmaker Jon White notes that Correlation also was the name of a quality three-year-old colt in the 1950s. “The late Noble Threewitt trained Correlation, who won the Florida Derby and the Wood Memorial in 1954,” White said. “Bill Shoemaker rode him in the Wood and Florida Derby and also rode him in the Kentucky Derby. Correlation was the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, but he finished sixth. Determine, a little gray colt that had won the Santa Anita Derby, was the Kentucky Derby winner that year. Correlation did go on to finish second to Hasty Road in the Preakness." . . . Congrats to Stephen Young on by nailing 70-1 shot Generosidade in Sunday’s San Luis Rey Stakes to advance to The Stronach Group’s Handicapping Challenge that starts Saturday. The live money contest event with a $4,500 buy-in ($3,000 bankroll and $1,500 prize pool) and takes place at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita. There is a 100 percent payback of all prize pool monies, with up to $300,000 in total prizes based upon the 200 entries. For more information, visit santaanita.com . . . Rafael Bejarano has a 55-44 lead over Santiago Gonzalez in the jockeys’ race, but the battle for top trainer is still this tight, with Phil D’Amato one up on Doug O’Neill, 25-24, through 48 days. Source: Santa Anita Park
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